Page 25 of Casper
LUNA
It had been a few days since the night Casper and I went out together. Although we’d been texting here and there, I hadn’t seen him around campus all that much. Maybe our paths just hadn’t crossed. Maybe he was busy with Kings business.
I left my first class, hopeful that I would see him at some point. As I ambled down the hallway, I pulled my phone out of my bag to find several missed calls. They were all from the number Jace had called from.
While I stared at the screen, the phone rang again. Jace. He wasn’t going to give up.
Fueled by a surge of irritation, I answered the call. “What do you want, Jace?”
His voice in my ear brought back so many terrible memories. “For starters, I’d like you to start answering the fucking phone. Are you avoiding my calls, Luna? Why would you do that?”
“I don’t have anything to say to you. You need to stop calling me.” My voice was firm as I clearly stated my boundaries.
Jace’s slimy laugh gave me chills. “Why would I do that? You’re my girl. Once I get out of here, we’ll be together again. I know it’s been a while. I’m not giving up on us.”
“There is no us,” I insisted. “You went away, and I moved on. Things have changed. I am not your girl.”
“That’s what you think. I’m coming for you, baby. Nothing is going to stop me from taking back what’s mine.” There was something deeply disturbed in his voice. It made my skin prickle.
Instead of replying, I simply ended the call. There wasn’t a lot I could do, so I blocked the number, hoping that would be enough. Knowing Jace, it would only make him that much more determined.
Learning that he was getting out of prison soon had made it increasingly hard to sleep. It took longer than usual to drift off. Often my dreams were tormented by memories of my time with him. What had started out as a flirtatious, fun fling had quickly spiraled into something vile and inescapable.
Although Jace had never hit me, he was always quick to drag me around by my hair or shove me down on the ground. More than once, he’d forced himself on me, making it seem like no big deal. He thought of me as his property that he could do with as he pleased.
Once he’d been locked up, I went through a phase of dating heavily. Hooking up with guys even if I didn’t like them. I think it was my way of taking back control. Feeling like these things were my choice again. For a while, I’d seen a therapist who helped me work through the worst of it. The last two years had been great. I never thought about him anymore.
Even though I knew that he wouldn’t be locked up forever, I’d hoped that it would be long enough for him to forget about me. I’d worked hard to forget about him.
Lost in thought, staring absently at my phone screen, I bumped into one of the football players and almost went down on my ass. “Sorry,” I mumbled, darting around him.
The sun had peeked out today, making it warm enough to take a break outside. I found Ripley and Codie sitting at one of the picnic tables. Sliding onto the bench across from them, I took a few deep breaths, trying to relax the stiff muscles in my shoulders.
“How’s it going, ladies?” I asked. “I’m glad it’s nice out today.”
“Yeah, we need to enjoy the warmth while it lasts. My next class starts in ten minutes, but I really needed some sunshine.” Ripley turned her face up toward the sun. Her blue eyes closed as she drank it in.
“Have you seen Casper yet today?” Codie raised a perfectly plucked brow. “I’m not sure what him and Rebel got up to yesterday but his arm is bandaged. I didn’t want to ask. Probably King business that I’m better off not knowing about.”
“Casper got hurt?” My stomach turned uneasily at the thought. “He’s okay though, right?”
“Yeah, he seems totally fine. I’m sure it’s nothing.” When I didn’t immediately reply, Codie continued. “So what’s this about an ex-boyfriend? Casper mentioned something about it. I didn’t know you had dated anyone seriously.”
He’d asked Codie about it? I dated Jace before getting to know most of my WU friends. He’d never been worth mentioning.
“A guy I dated in high school. Nobody important. He was kind of a maniac. He killed a gas station employee and went to prison. He’s been calling me lately. Trust me, I don’t miss him.” I tried to laugh it off, keeping the mood light.
“That’s intense. He’s been calling you? What’s that all about?” Codie did her best to seem innocent, but I knew better than that. She wanted the dirty details.
“Apparently, he thinks he’s getting out of prison soon,” I explained, making a face. “Unfortunately, his dad is a lawyer. Apretty good one. He’s got it in his head that he’s going to come see me once he gets out. I really don’t want that.”
Codie let out a low whistle. “I can only imagine what Casper would think of that.”
“It doesn’t matter anyway. I don’t want anything to do with Jace. Our time together wasn’t exactly good.” I didn’t volunteer any more information. Reliving the past was not of interest to me.
Not wanting to discuss it further, I changed the subject to everyone’s upcoming weekend plans. A much safer subject. Ripley complained about having to work. Codie suggested having Casper and me hang out with her and Stray. Possibly Rebel and Storm as well.
“It would be fun,” she insisted. “Like a triple date.”
